Commemoration for fallen guerrilla fighters in Geneva

A memorial ceremony for the fallen guerrilla fighters Rizgar Serhildan (Reşit Çetinkaya) and Zerdeşt Sîser (Mehmet Çevik) took place in Geneva. The two fighters were killed in the northern Kurdish regions of Serhad and Garzan in 2015, and their deaths were announced by the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) two weeks ago.

The event, held at the Democratic Kurdish Community Center in Geneva, was attended by numerous Kurds as well as relatives of Rizgar Serhildan. The program was opened with a minute of silence, after which Salih Sağlam, the co-chairman of the Kurdish association, gave a speech and stated that the liberation struggle of the martyrs will continue. The relatives also took the floor and said that they remain attached to the struggle.

After the speeches, a film clip about the lives and struggle of the martyrs was shown. The commemoration ended with the slogan: “Martyrs are immortal!”

Rizgar Serhildan came from a patriotic family in Muş. He joined the guerrillas together with his cousin in 2014. The HPG described him as a “self-sacrificing and dedicated” fighter. He fell in October 2015 in Kars province after carrying out a successful attack on Turkish soldiers. He was seriously injured in the action and resisted the Turkish army for a week while entrenched.

Zerdeşt Siser was born into a politically committed family in the northern Kurdish metropolis of Amed (Diyarbakır). In the face of repression and oppression, he joined the guerrillas. The HPG described him as a person with a “natural personality, great determination and a pure heart.” He was martyred in December 2015 during a heavy battle with the Turkish army in Garzan.

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